


lost my heart at the fairground

by gabilliam (vvhymack)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Kid Fic, M/M, a lot of talk about hyuck and johnny's relationship, hyuck's adopted, in the rea household, mostly fluffy, this was supposed 2 be a tiny drabble but, we all know how those turn out
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-25
Updated: 2019-03-25
Packaged: 2019-12-07 20:02:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18239564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vvhymack/pseuds/gabilliam
Summary: Prompt: 34 - “I might never get another chance to say this.”Johnny and Donghyuck go to the fair and meet some interesting people there.





	lost my heart at the fairground

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lunalius](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunalius/gifts).



> enjoy a day at the fair and too much backstory! i just googled the title, i couldn't think of anything dshafsdf
> 
> this is a drabble for ditto.

There was a fair in town and Donghyuck absolutely _had_ to go and he wanted to go with _Johnny_. It pained Johnny to deny him such a simple thing but in the midst of a heavy workload, it was hard to find the time to do so. It made Johnny viscerally aware of how he was an adult now, a working single father because had it been any other time, Johnny would have made the time instantly. He would have scoffed at parents who couldn’t make the time, wondering why they couldn’t simply spare a few hours.

But now he understood. He understood time restraints and urgency better than ever before and how the world doesn’t work on the whims of parents and that there are working hours for everyone, even the people are the fair and that days can be _exhausting_.

Donghyuck had been both stubborn and understanding. Understanding in that he understood that Johnny didn’t have time when he was in the middle of a deal when he had multiple people hounding him at all hours but also stubborn in the way he refused to go with anyone else. Not Jaehyun, not Taeyong, not even Ten could coax Donghyuck to go with them instead. Donghyuck simply smiled, saying he wanted to experience it with Johnny.

Johnny understood, he really did. Donghyuck had been adopted out of an orphanage when he had been 8, so he was fully aware that Johnny wasn’t his biological father. In fact, before Donghyuck even knew Johnny as his father, he knew Johnny as the volunteer who came to the orphanage every other weekend with his friends, he knew Johnny as Taeyong hyung’s friend, who had apologized saying he didn’t have much money to donate, nowhere near as much as his friend had, but he could provide company. He would go pretty regularly, reading to the kids or doing other activities with them. He didn’t know when Donghyuck turned from one of the kids who was particularly loud to perhaps the highlight of his day somedays. It felt unfair towards the other kids but Johnny was aware that he had a special spot in his heart for Donghyuck.

The decision to adopt him hadn’t been easy. Johnny only started considering it once he’d gotten a promotion ensuring he could make enough money to bare all the expenses that being responsible for a child came with. Even then, he wondered what the money came at the cost of, quickly realizing that with more money came more workload and whether it was wise to adopt Donghyuck when he might be neglected, despite how much Johnny adored him. It had been something he’d struggled with a lot, even as he could closer to Donghyuck and would take him on day trips on weekends out of the orphanage and feel something painfully big swell in his heart when he got Donghyuck to smile shyly at him and hold his hand.

Donghyuck was loud and obnoxious and grumpy, everything Johnny was sure was his childish reaction to his situation, but underneath it, he was incredibly kindhearted and scared, his grip on Johnny’s hand tight. Donghyuck had only asked Johnny not to take him back to the orphanage once after one of their outings and it had broken Johnny’s heart to tell him he had to take him back. The grim, understanding expression that came on the child’s face had been worse and Johnny had never wanted Donghyuck to throw a tantrum more, to yell at him and convince him otherwise with tears and insistence rather than simply accepting defeating as he shrugged his tiny 8-year-old shoulders that had born much too heavy a burden for a child so small.

It was that easy defeat that made Johnny question himself even more, to the point where it was all he could talk about to his friends, who were starting to get irritated by his indecisiveness. Yuta had told him to go for it, that living in an orphanage took an emotional toll on a child and if he came home with Johnny, not only would have Johnny more than he usually did but he would also have everyone else who visited Johnny’s place constantly. Taeil was more cautious, advising him to think carefully before taking on such responsibility but to please think elsewhere since Taeil had said all he needed to say. Ten, surprisingly, had been all for it, despite his constant teasing of Donghyuck and his less than positive attitude towards children.

“You love him,” Ten had shrugged when Johnny had asked him of what made him so convinced. “You’re offering him parental love and shelter which, from what I’ve seen, his orphanage doesn’t really provide and even if it did, it wouldn’t be focused on just him, would it? Kids need that. And you can afford to raise him properly now. At the end of the day, however heavy your work load, you’re going to come home, right? That can mean a lot to someone who was abandoned.”

In the end, there had no one else to ask but Donghyuck himself. Johnny hadn’t wanted to raise the topic, didn’t want to get the boy’s hopes up. But it seemed Donghyuck was safeguarding himself against the same potential hurt and he had been guarded and forcibly nonchalant, almost biting. It had taken another few times bringing up the possibility for Donghyuck to break, to drop his unaffected, hyperactive façade and admit to Johnny that he would like it, he would really like it if he had a home rather than an institution to get back to, that he’d like having his own space and to simply have that chance.

Johnny had looked seriously into adoption the next day, asking the orphanage what he had to do. The actual process of adopting hadn’t been easy either, the organization reluctant to give a young boy to an unmarried man despite Johnny being a common face in their halls by then but Taeyong had greased the wheels as a regular donor of a not insignificant amount of money and soon enough, Donghyuck was officially Johnny’s son and moving into Johnny’s new two bedroom apartment.

It had been hectic, changing his life so drastically but by then, it had simply seemed like Donghyuck had always been a part of it and Donghyuck took change and the hecticness in stride, as excitable as always even when Johnny came home late some days, even when Johnny could barely keep his eyes open when Donghyuck ranted about his day and his friends. Donghyuck threw tantrums about other things, was childish and petulant at times but never about Johnny’s work or how busy he was.

Despite Donghyuck being labelled a problem child by the orphanage, Johnny adored him in all his loud, brash glory. Johnny loved him most when he was unashamedly himself, when he was open and vulnerable and excitable, no longer instinctively expecting to get hurt. When he felt Donghyuck fall asleep with his head on Johnny’s lap on the couch when Johnny was still working from home and he saw the serene look on Donghyuck’s slumbering face, Johnny knew he had made the right decision.

It was why Johnny didn’t simply drop everything and take Donghyuck to the fair, why he was lowkey glad that Donghyuck hadn’t gone with Taeyong or anyone else. It was a father and son moment Johnny wanted to have with Donghyuck and with 3 days to the closing date of the fair, Johnny finally got a day he could take off without being hounded on the phone.

On the day of, he switched off his work phone and watched Donghyuck eat breakfast fondly.

“Why’re you looking at me like that?” Donghyuck asked with a mouth full of food. Johnny winced and reprimanded him to not speak with a full mouth. Donghyuck chewed, swallowed, then continued. “Is this what you took a day off for? To stare at me eat with that look on your face?”

“Yes,” Johnny said happily, grinning when Donghyuck frowned to hide his blush. “You’re cute when you eat. My cute baby.”

“Stop,” Donghyuck complained. “You’re my legal guardian, I’m not your actual child. And I’m _10_ , I’m not a baby!”

“You’ll always be my baby,” Johnny said. “That’s exactly why I should be allowed to call you baby, I wasn’t around when you were an actual baby.”

“That’s the worst logic I’ve ever heard,” Donghyuck mumbled but didn’t put much of a fight, even washing the dishes before leaving for school, bidding Johnny goodbye cheerfully and reminding him he had to pick him up from school so they could go to the fair together.

The morning and afternoon flew by and it wasn’t long before Johnny had picked up Donghyuck from school and they were on their way to grab something to eat before heading to the fair.

“Don’t stare at me while I eat again,” Donghyuck warned Johnny, who smiled grinned back at him, putting in the sauce as Donghyuck stirred his bibimbap together.

“How was your day?” Johnny asked the question he usually asked over the phone, calling Donghyuck once he was done with school. “Anything interesting happen?”

“We got new foreigner students,” Donghyuck said after swallowing his first few bites and Johnny wanted to jump in triumph at Donghyuck eating with his mouth closed and not talking. Instead, he simply nodded enthusiastically. “One of them is in my grade but his brother is one year younger. They’re Chinese.”

“Oh?” Johnny asked. “Did you try to be their friend?”

“Renjun did,” Donghyuck replied. “But I couldn’t really understand what they were saying. I told Yangyang that just because he said something louder didn’t mean I suddenly understood it.”

Bold words coming from Donghyuck, Johnny thought to himself.

“They’re better than _Mark Lee_ ,” Donghyuck said darkly, scowling at the mention of the name. “I saw him _again_ today.”

“He goes to your school, Hyuck, of course, you saw him,” Johnny said gently, trying not to grin at the idea of elementary school rivalry. Donghyuck apparently had a bone to pick with one particular upperclassman called Mark Lee, though when Johnny had investigated by picking up Donghyuck after school one day and loitering around, it seemed Mark Lee was just confused at Donghyuck’s animosity. Johnny had wanted to extend a hand to his fellow North American born Korean but Donghyuck had physically hissed at Mark and dragged Johnny away. “I still don’t understand why you dislike him.”

“Jenosequah,” Donghyuck said and Johnny stared at him in confusion. “Yangyang told us it’s a French phrase and it’s why I hate Mark Lee.”

“Is that how he pronounced it?” Johnny asked in amusement. “Do you mean _je ne sais quoi_?”

“That one!” Donghyuck said gleefully. “Yangyang’s cool. Even if his Korean is, like, not really Korean.”

“What do you mean? Drink some water,” Johnny asked, reminding Donghyuck to stop inhaling his food for a moment.

“Like, it’s-,” Donghyuck paused, searching for words to express himself properly. Johnny waited patiently, eating his own meal. “It sounds more like Chinese or German but it’s Korean words?”

“Oh, it’s accented?” Johnny asked. “That means he has an accent.”

“Yeah, that,” Donghyuck said, waving his chopsticks. “His younger brother doesn’t have the same assent though-“

“Accent,” Johnny enunciated.

“Accent,” Donghyuck repeated and Johnny nodded. “His younger brother doesn’t have the same _accent_. They don’t even look that much alike. What if one of them is adopted?”

“Did you ask them that?” Johnny asked apprehensively.

Donghyuck’s answer of “Not yet,” didn’t appease him that much but he let it go after telling Donghyuck it would be rude to just ask that of someone point blank. Donghyuck had nodded and gone back to inhaling his food. Johnny looked on fondly, picking up the camera hanging on his neck to snap some pictures.

There was a gentle breeze and the sun’s heat wasn’t beating down on them so the walk to the fair was easy and seemingly quick with Donghyuck rambling about his latest interest in performers and dancers. He would spend as long as he could pouring over his tablet, watching videos and trying to mimic them. Donghyuck was on a tirade about Michael Jackson when he slipped his hand into Johnny’s as they approached the fair and the crowd got thicker. Johnny’s heart hummed contently at the gesture of physical affection.

They hit the stall games section first, trying making their way through a quarter of them, running into Jaehyun and Yuta along the way, who vowed to win Donghyuck something and then failed. Johnny and Donghyuck lost them soon enough since it was Dad and Son Day and only Dads and Sons were allowed to be with them and since Yuta and Jaehyun were neither, they were quickly left behind, but not before they could take more pictures of Donghyuck and Johnny together.

“Knock ‘em dead!” Donghyuck screeched and Johnny’s grip on the gaming rifle wavered as he tried to hold back a laugh. Getting his serious face back on, Johnny aimed at the offending cans stacked up over each other and fired, registering Donghyuck’s exhilarated squeals as the tower tumbled down.

The prize was small, a soft stuffed bear, but Donghyuck guarded it in his arms religiously, side-eying anyone who got too close. After trying to get the hoops into the rings, they meandered over to the street food vendors with renewed hunger.

Johnny startled when Donghyuck’s litany of “Tteokbokki, tteokbokki, tteokbokki” were interrupted by a gasp and he looked down to see his son ( _his son_! It still made him feel giddy to say that so blatantly) with his mouth open, looking beyond Johnny. When Johnny followed his gaze, he saw nothing notable.

“What’s wrong, Hyuck?” Johnny asked as he took the plate offered to him, thanking the vendor.

“I saw Yangyang and Chenle,” Donghyuck explained, getting on his tippy toes. “I lost them though.”

“It’s not a massive fair and we’re still here for a while,” Johnny assured Donghyuck. “Maybe we’ll see them later.”

They accumulated more street food, eating some along the way but taking a lot of it over to a patch of grass and settling down for a bit, Donghyuck stretching his legs on the ground happily. Johnny caught up on the things Donghyuck wanted to talk about during the nights he was too tired to stay awake. Yuta and Jaehyun appeared only once more to steal some food before bidding them farewell as they left the fair. Johnny noted the way they were almost holding hands.

“There they are again!” Donghyuck exclaimed with a mouth full of food.

“Hyuck. Food. Mouth,” Johnny said, handing Donghyuck a tissue which he took sheepishly.

“Sorry,” Donghyuck said. “I saw Yangyang! Look! Can I invite them over for a little bit?”

Despite his earlier blasé attitude towards the new boy, Donghyuck seemed excited about his new friend now so Johnny nodded, keeping track of Donghyuck as he ran and stopped in front of a boy slightly taller than him, who was grinning at him just as widely. Johnny could see his little brother as well and the back of the man who was holding both their hands. He saw Donghyuck converse with them easily, saw the man twist his neck to look down at Donghyuck and Yangyang. He then looked at where Donghyuck was pointing and Johnny raised a hand to differentiate him from the people surrounding them. Apparently, they were given the green light because the two boys came racing back, falling onto the grass beside Johnny in breathless giggles.

“Hi,” Yangyang said in English, looking up at Johnny before swiftly getting up and bowing. “I’m Yangyang.”

“You should speak in Korean,” Donghyuck complained, although he had probably understood what Yangyang had said. “You’ll get better at it that way.”

“Sorry,” Yangyang said, switching to Korean. Johnny understood what Donghyuck had meant by accented Korean since even the simple word fell heavy. “My dad says the same thing.”

“You’re good at it,” Johnny said encouragingly in Hangul, speaking slower than he normally would but not mockingly so. Yangyang smiled at him gratefully.

“My dad says I’m good with languages,” Yangyang grinned. “He speaks Korean really well!”

“Did you look at the homework for Math yet?” Donghyuck asked, stealing Yangyang’s attention away from Johnny. Johnny didn’t mind, enjoying watching his son socialize. Johnny pulled up the camera again, capturing his son and his friend mid serious discuss, Donghyuck’s mouth opened wide. He turned his lens towards the sky, towards the fair, letting it fall back when another small being propelled past him and into Yangyang.

“I have defeated the evil!” The younger announced from on top of Yangyang. Now beside each other, Johnny once again understood what Donghyuck meant and momentarily mentally praised his little boy’s astuteness. Yangyang and his younger brother whose name Johnny had already forgotten didn’t look much alike, nor did they particularly sound alike, the younger boy’s Korean a lot clearer.

“Chenle, get off your brother or you’re getting none of this food you made me carry,” A voice that was trying to be stern said, only coming off as exasperatedly fond. Johnny looked up at the owner of the voice and blinked.

Yangyang’s father definitely looked better up close than he did as a faraway figure and Johnny was stunned speechless for a moment, eyes drinking in the way his dark hair was parted, the expressive eyes and plump lips.  He quickly came to his senses though, hopefully, quick enough that the other man didn’t see him falter and smiled, quickly getting up to shake the man’s hand and try to lessen his burden.

“Hi, I’m Donghyuck’s dad,” Johnny said. The hand Kun offered him barely extended past his wrist as his arms were piled on with food and Johnny shook it quickly before picking up the precariously piled up food and handing them to the kids, who set them on the ground. “You didn’t have to get so much food, we’ve already eaten. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine now,” Yangyang’s father said, rolling back his shoulders and stretching his arms before turning his attention back to Johnny and giving him a smile. Johnny’s heart stuttered at the glimpse of dimples. “Hi, I’m Kun.”

“Johnny,” Johnny said.

“I’m Chenle!” The younger brother quipped and Kun looked down and frowned.

“Can you please close your mouth and eat?” Kun said testily. “I don’t know where you suddenly learnt this from, I raised you better than this.”

“That’s what I tell Donghyuck!” Johnny said as they sat back down.

“You didn’t raise me,” Donghyuck replied in between bites, making sure not to eat with food in his mouth.

“He’s right,” Johnny rushed to say as Kun looked mildly awkward as Donghyuck’s words. “I adopted him two years ago.”

“Oh,” Kun said.

“You’re right but you shouldn’t say it,” Yangyang said with a straight face in English before bursting into giggles at his own joke. Kun looked bemused but seemed more at ease, turning to Johnny.

“How old are you?” Kun asked, tilting his head. Johnny willed himself not to flush under Kun’s scrutinizing stare but the man was ridiculously attractive and Johnny was just going to have to get used to that.

“32,” Johnny said. “How old do I look?”

“Oh, you’re quite young then!” Kun said. “You look young but I wasn’t sure.”

“Quite young to be a single father who has never been married,” Johnny nodded.

“I didn’t mean it like that,” Kun said, flustered, waving his hands. It was cute, offensively so. “I just mean- it’s a little unorthodox but that’s _fine_. Who cares about the nuclear family? Not us!”

“A family can be six grown men taking care of one child,” Donghyuck said wisely, looking up when eyes turned to him. “Jaehyun hyung told me that.”

“He’s not wrong,” Kun said with a grin.

“Who said we have one child?” Johnny said easily. “Yuta and Ten are there too.”

The conversation soon separated, the kids engaged in an intense discussion about their favorite idol groups while Johnny and Kun watched on.

“So,” Kun started. “What do you do?”

“In general or for a living?” Johnny teased, enjoying the way Kun got easily flustered. “I’m essentially a communications manager at a company.”

“Oh, that’s cool,” Kun said and Johnny believed him from the tone of his voice. “Does that mean PR or?”

“Not particularly,” Johnny replied. “I do a lot of networking and connecting people and making sure everyone is communicating properly and what the hold up is if something is stalling- it’s a lot of dealing with a ton of different people but I’m good at it. And it pays me well enough to take care of a child, so that’s a wonderful plus.”

“So you do that for a living,” Kun hummed. “What do you do in general?”

Johnny blinked. No one really ever asked him that anymore.

“Uh, I’m into photography,” Johnny said, raising his camera. Kun’s eyes widened appreciatively.

“That’s really cool,” Kun raved. “I just take pictures of the sky. And planes! And my kids, obviously.”

“Obviously,” Johnny repeated with a laugh. “What do you do?”

“In general or for a living?” Kun shot back with squinted eyes as he grinned. Johnny grinned back. “I’m a chef at a restaurant. I cook fancy food and people put pictures of it up on Instagram.”

“Oh, a _fancy_ chef,” Johnny said with a laugh. “Is all this street food atrocious to you?”

“What kind of animal doesn’t appreciate a good street mandu?” Kun replied with mock outrage. “Nah, I love all kinds of food. It’s just that high-end restaurants pay a lot. And it’s like an art form, which is exciting. High-end cuisine is it’s own type of cuisine, even if it looks pretentious from afar.”

“That sounds great,” Johnny said honestly. “Donghyuck told me you guys recently moved to Korea?”

“Oh, right,” Kun nodded. “Chenle and I lived in China and Yangyang grew up in Germany. We just moved here a few weeks ago.”

“Did Yangyang not grow up with you?” Johnny asked delicately, not wanting to imply something untoward.

“Yangyang is my brother’s child,” Kun said softly. “His parents died a year ago so I took him under my care.”

“Oh,” Johnny said. “That makes a lot of sense.”

“He was going to be raised by my mother,” Kun continued. “But I had gotten an offer in Korea for a really well-paying job and Yangyang was already going to uphaul his entire life so I thought he could uphaul it to Korea with me and Chenle rather than being alone with my mother in China. That’s how we got here.”

“It was really kind of you, to take in a child like that,” Johnny said gently and Kun looked at him with sparkling eyes. “Chenle is yours, I assume? You look alike.”

“I could say the same for you,” Kun said. “Unmarried, huh? The scandal.”

“Oh, yes,” Johnny laughed. “My parents weren’t over the moon but they don’t live here and they warmed up to Donghyuck very quickly. Still, explaining it to middle-aged people is quite a headache.”

“Aren’t we technically middle aged? You’re 32, you said?” Kun pointed out. “I’m 31.”

“Oh god,” Johnny said after a pause. “No. It can’t be.”

“It’s okay,” Kun said soothingly. Johnny could get used to Kun’s voice very quickly.

“What’s wrong?” Donghyuck asked, looking at Johnny’s stricken face with concern.

“Donghyuck,” Johnny said mournfully. “Papa’s old.”

Donghyuck rolled his eyes then played along, wailing and fake sobbing, running into Johnny’s arms.

The act wasn’t kept up long, the kids wanting to go back to the games. They seemed content with going together. Johnny wanted to ask Donghyuck if he was okay with that since he’d wanted this day to be a bonding day for Johnny and himself but Donghyuck ran in front with Yangyang and Chenle before Johnny could say anything so Johnny and Kun followed their kids back towards the games.

This time, Johnny stood back and watched, taking on his award-winning role as Donghyuck’s personal cheerleader, Kun doing the same for Chenle and Yangyang. Time seemed to pass quicker when they had company, the kids running from stall to stall to game. They all bundled in closer together when darkness fell, Donghyuck’s hand back securely in Johnny’s. The fair was getting more crowded as the people leaving works and students started visiting.

“You ready to leave?” Johnny asked Donghyuck. The kid was starting to slow down, looking tired. Donghyuck looked around, deciding.

“Can we go into the haunted mansion before we go? It’s nighttime, it’ll be spookier!” Donghyuck said, “Then we can leave!”

“Sure,” Johnny said. _God, please don’t let there be jump scares_. “Are you sure you won’t be scared?”

“Of course not,” Donghyuck scoffed and Johnny believed him. Donghyuck wasn’t particularly scared of much.

“What about you kids?” Johnny asked Yangyang and Chenle. Chenle nodded excitedly but Yangyang seemed unconvinced.

“Yangyang and I can stay back,” Kun said but Yangyang shook his head resolutely.

“It’s fine,” Yangyang said. “If something screams at me, I’ll just scream back louder.”

The line for the haunted house wasn’t long since the morning crowd had mostly left and the night crowd hadn’t made it this far yet. Johnny, Kun and the kids were allowed to go in a singular group.

“You gonna be okay, dad?” Donghyuck asked and the way ‘dad’ fell off his lips so naturally made Johnny feel like he was on top of the world and could do anything.

“It’ll be fine,” Johnny said breezily before continuing under his breath. “Please, no jump scares.”

“Haunted mansions are entirely jump scares,” Kun whispered back and Johnny startled, not having realized how close they were as the kids lead the noble and brave march into the house.

“I’ll be fine,” Johnny repeated with a little less surety. He heard Kun snicker but paid it no mind, focusing on getting through to the other end. The passageway was getting darker and his grip on Donghyuck’s hand tightened.

The ominous music started and Johnny almost bolted.

“Is Chenle going to be okay? This music is creepy?” Johnny whisper asked Kun.

“Chenle is a musical prodigy, thank you very much,” Kun whispered back in amusement. “He’s played pieces creepier than this, it’s actually what he’s really interested in right now.”

It was true, Chenle seemed unaffected by the atmosphere, moving his head along to tune happily. Yangyang had let go of Kun’s hand and was instead sticking close to Donghyuck, who put an arm over his shoulder protectively. Johnny smiled at the sweet sight before screaming bloody murder as a skeleton dropped in front of them.

He came to himself quickly and saw Kun doubled over with laughter. Chenle seemed unbothered while Donghyuck was staring judgmentally at him. Yangyang was the only one who had sympathy in his gaze but a smile on his lips.

“Do you want to meet us on the other end from outside?” Donghyuck asked.

“I can take the kids forward,” Kun volunteered with a grin.

“I’m fine!” Johnny announced. “I’m fine.”

He was not fine. He managed to hold in his scream at the ugly witch, at the wind teasing his ankles. Donghyuck had let go on his hand, complaining that Johnny’s grip was too tight. When he felt something touch his shoulder, he jumped and grabbed the arm of the person closest to him, which happened to be Kun.

To give Kun credit, he seemed unfazed by Johnny’s grip on him, sparing their jointed arms a glance before letting go of Chenle’s hand momentarily to pat Johnny’s comfortingly. Johnny hated to admit that he took great comfort in it and had to physically stop himself from curling his large body around Kun’s.

“What is that?” Johnny wailed as something that seemed like it had crawled out of the Ring appeared, laughing maniacally before disappearing. He wished the kids would be more affected but Yangyang and Donghyuck were discussing which monsters were the fakest while Chenle was wiggling and vibrating as the eerie music hit a crescendo. “Hyuck, I might never get another chance to say this but I love you.”

“Love you too,” Donghyuck replied mindlessly.

It ended soon and Johnny thankfully gulped fresh air outside, Kun rubbing his back comfortingly.

“Are you okay?” Kun asked again but with actual concern.

“I’m fine,” Johnny assured him. “I just really hate jump scares.”

“Then you shouldn’t have gone in, silly,” Kun chastised.

“And be seen as a coward by my son? Impossible,” Johnny insisted.

“I doubt you’d be-“ Kun started before being interrupted by an unknowing Donghyuck.

“You made it out!” Donghyuck praised Johnny clapping. “You’re so brave, I’m so proud of you!”

“God, he’s _such_ a little shit,” Johnny muttered, not mentioning how the praise actually made him feel better. He continued louder, ignoring Kun’s giggle at the comment. “Thanks, kid. It was all for you.”

“Are you better now?” Kun asked and Johnny nodded. “Can you let go of my arm now?”

Johnny’s eyes fell to his hand his clutching Kun’s arm and he dropped it instantly, apologizing as he felt himself flush. Kun waved off the apologies, smiling sweetly and perhaps it was the post scare adrenaline talking, but Johnny fell a little in love with his soft gestures. It was utterly ridiculous but it made Johnny grin back at Kun.

The walk back towards the main gates was quieter, the kids losing their hyperactivity and starting to get sleepy. The silence was comfortable, though, only penetrated by a brief conversation on how they’d make their way home. Kun said he lived nearby, less than a 10-minute walk away. The KakaoTaxi Johnny had ordered for them was waiting for them outside.

“This was nice,” Johnny said. He looked down at Donghyuck who had curled his body into Johnny’s and was resting his face against Johnny’s lower torso. “Donghyuck really enjoyed himself, he’s just really tired.”

“I did,” Came Donghyuck’s muffled voice and Johnny smiled. “Yangyang’s dad should let him come over.”

“Tell Yangyang’s dad that,” Johnny said and laughed when Donghyuck shook his head. Johnny moved, opening the door to the taxi. Donghyuck pulled away, quickly said goodbye to Yangyang and his family before climbing in, ready to nap on the way home.

“It was nice meeting you,” Johnny said sincerely. “Yangyang should come over. You should all come over for dinner someday. You and Chenle and Yangyang and-”

Johnny paused, not remembering if Kun mentioned a significant other. Kun simply smiled at him.

“Yangyang, Chenle and I will be happy to come if invited,” Kun said with a knowing look in his eyes. “Give me your number, we’ll figure something for the kids.”

Johnny thought about a lot on the way back home. He thought about the way Donghyuck was curled up against him, he thought about Yangyang’s bright smile and Chenle’s airy attitude. He thought about the way Kun’s eyes seemed almost fond when they fell on him by the end of the night and the way he’d put a little ♡ beside Johnny’s name when he’d saved his number. Johnny smiled to himself. Taking the day off had been one of the best ideas he had had in a while.

**Author's Note:**

> hit me up on twitter @nyankamoto or on my curiouscat, http://curiouscat.me/nyankamoto


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